GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES

GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES

1. DEITY

   • The trinity= the father, son, holy spirit.
     • God is transcendent,
       • Creator, judge and god is a king.
   • KEY WORDS:
     • Omnibenevolence= all-good
       • Omnipotent= all-important
         • Omnipresent= all-present
           • Omniscient= all-knowing
             • Natural selection= genectic differences between things (Charles darwin)
               • Numinous= a mysterious power that suggests the presence of a spirit or god
             • Agnostic= someone who is not sure if there is a god
               • Atheist= someone who does not beiev in god
   • " God made man in his own image"
   • Arguments for existence
     • Ontological= " than which nothing greater can be concieved" (Anselm)
       • Cosmological= " nothing can come from nothing" (Thomas Aquinas)
         • Teleogical= " if there was no designer it would be a state" (William paley)
           • Moral= basic understanding of right and wrong this knowledge must of came from god
     • Miracles
       • Bernadette who had visions of the virgin mary
         • Often performed by god or the holy spirit
           • jesus healing the sick
             • moses and the burning bush

2. Spiritual expierience

   • Private worship
     • Christians often do this by themselves
       • Some christians do this to build a realationship with God
         • Meditate= To empty the mind of thoughts, this is done to concentrate on prayer
           • Prayer= a way of communicating with God
   • Public worship
     • Often done at church or with other people e.g. a bible study
       • Eucharist= A christian sacrament which commemorates the last supper
         • Sacrament= An outward, physical sign of an inward invisible grace (god)
           • Examples= singing hyms, bible readings and worship
   • Prayer and meditation
     • Rosary beads are set on mysteries= Joyful. sorrowful, glorious, luminous
       • Types of prayer= Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication
         • LORD'S PRAYER
   • Stained glass windows, icons, SISTINE CHAPEL
     • Alpha and omega= jesus is the beginning and end of all things
       • A fish= jesus christ, son of god, saviour
         • A dove= a symbol of peace or the holy spirit
     • Chi-rho= first two letters of jesus in greek
       • Cross= jesus crucifixion
         • Candles= jesus is the light of the world
   • Food and Fasting
     • Christmas= celebration of jesus birth
       • Easter= jesus rising from the dead
         • hot- cross buns
           • Pancakes

3. End of Life

   • Body and soul
     • The soul is a non- physical part of the body
       • The soul goes to heaven or hell
         • Original sin= was brought into the world when eve dis-obyed God
   • Life after death
     • Christians believe that jesus will return to the earth
       • Judgement day= when god judges the soul for its life
       • Parable of the sheep and the goat
         • The sheep represent angels and goats represents satan (the devil)
   • Purgatory
     • Roman catholics believe this is where the soul goes to get a spirtual cleansing
       • Redemption= jesus died to save all christians from their sins
   • Funeral rites
     • Christians believe the funeral is mainly for the bereaved
       • " I'am the resurrection and the life"
         • Churches face the rising sun of jerusalem
           • " Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" this is said when the coffin is lowered into the ground

4. Good and Evil

   • Moral evil
     • An evil someone brings upon themselves by their own behaviour. e.g. discrimination
     • Natural evil
       • An evil shown through natural disasters e.g. hurricanes
     • Story of job
       • God took everything away from job to prove to satan that he will be faithful to his religion
     • Ten commandments
       • "do not murder"
       • Conscience= a sense of what is right and wrong
   • Suffering
     • Christians believe the more you suffer on earth the more you have to look forward to in heaven
     • A necessary part of life
       • Without suffering we have nothing to fight for
     • Suffering is caused by sin
   • Free will
     • choosing what actions you take
     • Original sin
       • everyone is born with this sin it gets cleansed when a child gets christened
     • The fall
       • When adam and eve ate the forbidden fruit

5. Religion and science

   • Theories of the world
     • Big Bang= a massive explosion happened which caused the world to form
     • Genesis
       • Creation story
         • Arguments of existence
     • Evolution
       • Things adapt to their surroundings over time
   • Christians believe god made them stewards of the world
     • Stewardship= to look after gods creations
       • " Be fruitful and increase in number"
         • Christians believe animals have no souls
           • life is sacred
             • Noah and the ark